Automatic fender for vehicles



Feb. 25, 1930. J. s. wlLLMAN AUTOMATIC FENDER FOR VEHICLES Filed Sept;20. 1928 i V4o l formiofmy fender and the nieans formel- 'Patented Fv25, '1930!'.

' UNITED STA TES JOSEPH sYmEs'rJiiR'wnimvran, v OF BROOKLYN, iviszw`YORK I ATOMATIC FENDER Fon vrvEnIcLEs y Application mea september20,1928. Y serial No. 307,143.

This invention, relates to fendersfor use such improvements i with Vanautomobile, :in

this instance being located atthezforwardend One object of my inventionVis to provide an automatically"v operating fender for a 've` Vhicle toy prevent the wheels ofsuch vehicle' passing over al 15 the vehicle.

f Another Vobject of my invention is-to providel suchk afender withvascoop or alike device carried at ornear the lowerend of person or anobjectv struck by the fender.

' 20. y A third-object of myjinvention is to vide a. fender of the kind-mentioned `which vmay be readily attached. to the Aforwardend of anautomobile, 'preferably` forward of the radiator of an'automobile.

vide a'trippingv device adjacent to andv for#V ward of thefender,'and.which may. beused as a substitute fora bumper.

A fifth object of .my invention is' toprofor releasably securing thefendexin raised Yposition ,i v.

;v Other Objects of invention willbemen! ltioned hereinafter, Yand-setforth inthe appended claims.: Y Y

. Referring to the particularV embodimentof my invention illustrated inthe accompanying f' drawings, V V l vliignfl is a -wardend ofanautomobile together with.- one rrrleasa-loly holding Vthesameinp'ositiongl Fig. V2 is ,an enlarged view yof vthe Vlatchingandreleasi'ng devices; e Aif v f-Fig. Slis a perspective front 'viewofthe Varrangement of Fig. 1. 1

For the sake of clearnessfthe onlyl parts illustrated ofthe automobileare a wheel, A', -aV main-bar B,j a radiator-frame C, and

f5@ hood D.

secured to yand A fourth objectof my invention .is'to proy plateis usedasfa means for articulately convide a novelform of catch which, isemployed lleftlhand side. view the forfor automatically, latchingandautomatically releasing the same, are located forwardly :of the radiatorof the automobile, beingjabove and carried by bars E and E?, which aremain bars B of the car.

Near the forward endsthereof, the bars E and El areA provided withfender-guides. These, as shown, may consist of Apostsorjthe likearranged in spacedapart pairs, F -F1,

PATENT :oFFlcE Astillustrated, the fender and the l parts l Y" 55project forwardlyV from the and F2'- 3, these posts projectingupwardlyand connected in their spacedrelati'on'y at shown in Fig. l, .thefender-guides are held lrigidly by the short bars E and E1, aoonsiderable distance in advance ofthe radiator of the automobile. Therearward bar (that is Normally, the upper offthetripping plate I isVprojected slightly forwardand at an angleof, say, 30-with'relation'tothe v -lixed plate G. The tripping r`plate is .reap- It may therefore,kbe of any width,shape. or size desired, ormayeven `be omitted, in jj;which latter case the articulate connections Vmay-'be securedtothelforwardenols of the barsQE and E19v The connections/ which I prefer toemploy-areihinges of any suitable kinfd. As shown, Imay use hinges, suchas J. and J5, and also any, desired ,additionalj. vhinges such asY. Y. l

' The tripping means,'findicate.d at I,. may be `a plate, vthegloweredge'of whichis connected at a 'plurality of points tothegfixed plateGr,f 'by means of the hinges before spoken -ofAA wardly movableuntil itcomes in contact with G. Y

Bymeans of'a connection, hereinafterdescribed, thestripping `platecontrols thej'unlatching of a. fender, and is restored toits of theunlatching device. .Y

rhe last-mentioned device' comprises a i crosswise bar K located belowand at rightv angles with respectvof the two bars E and E1. t is movablyconnected with the tripping plate I, by means of a strap or strip Z, ora plurality of such Straps or strips may be used for that purpose.

The bar K is connected with and operates mechanism for unlatching thefender. The mentioned mechanism may include any desired or suitablenumber of unlatching devices. For this purpose, I prefer to employ anovel form 0f elbow catch of my invention, said catches being used oneimmediately underneath bar E and the other immediately underneath barE1.

Such novel form of 'catchconsists of a movable member M anda fixed basevmember N, the latter being secured directly underneath a bar (E or E1)and havinga somewhat long pin N1 extending downwardly from the plate ofthe iined member N. l

The movable member M has an arm M1 which is provided with a shoulderedportion, M2, and such arm M1 is Vconnected with the bar K before spokenof, it being 'understood that such bar is suit-ably connected with anyother catch or catches employed for unlatchinw. 2rhe other arm (thatshown at M3) of the catch has an .opening M4, therein,-and throughwhichtheelongatedpinN1 projects. Aspring O surrounds said pin and bearsagainst the plate N aforesaid, and also against aA washer P, whichlatter lits over `the opening M4 lin the arm M3.

An elbow catch of the novel form shown is not only exceedinglyrugged andcapable of withstanding the roughlusage to which it islilely to besubjected duringthe operation of an automobile, but is alsoextremelysensitive and easily Vresponsive to the pull 'exerted thereon by alstrap cr strip'Z-.-

An examination of the ill vstrations of the c unlatching mechanismsalready described,

Vwill show that upon vthe Vupper (free) edge of the tripping plate Icoming into contact witha person or object, said plate will swingrearwardly about its hinges 'until 'it comes against the fixed plate G.By reason -of the strap or strip Z being secured to the swingingtripping plate I, the bar K will be pulled forwardly and the elbow catchwill be pulled about its pivot putting the spring O under` increasedstrain.

It will be understood, of course, that the' tripping plate I maybeconnected by any de- Vsired number of straps or strips Z, with the barK, and that any desired number of elbow catches may be provided and besecured to said bar K.

As before'stated, the 'spring Oof the novel 'form of elbow vcatch hasits :compression increased upon the operation of the tripping plate I.It follows, therefore, that upon the said tripping plate being released,the spring O will return the movable member M, the bar K, the strap Z,and the plate l to their original positions (those illustrated) readyfor another operation.

As hereinbefo're stated, the bars E and E1 carry upwardly-extending'fender guides disposed in pairs F-F1, and FZ- 3. These pairs of bars areused 'tohold a fender S, while in its upper position (being thatillustrated in full lines in Eig. l and that shown in Fig. 3). Y f

A form of fender which may be used consists of an open frame, the widthof which preferably equals (about) the width of the forward bumpercarried by an automobile,

being greater than the distance between the outer edges of the two frontwheels of the` car.

The form offender shown in the accompanying drawings, consists ofan openframe with rods or strong wires T running from a top bar S1 to the lowerbar S2. ri'Che frame ."'90

from the lower to upper (ready) position. It' 7 will be noted that therelation ofthe parts is such that the upper bar S1 of the frame willcome against the upper sides of the eXtension-bars E and E1; thisarrangement prevents separation of the fender-frame from 'i the fixedparts ofthe device.

The fender frame carries one or more an* gles S5' (Fig. 2) which arecapable, in the raised position of the fender frame, of engaging withand being releasablyheld by the shoulders li 2 of thenovel `elbowcatches.`

U and U1 Lare long fiat springs, each connected at one end with a VpartH whichalso spaces the guide bars apart, Vwhilethe other, free, ends ofthe springs,l press against the upper bar S1 of the fender frame.

V is a scoop device connected with the lower end of tliefender frame,Vor. with the lower bar, S2, thereof. Such scoop device isxpreferablycomposed of flexible or yielding parts vand extends forwardly or in Vaydirection 'away from the wheels of the vehicles.V

From all of the foregoing, it is obvious that upon the tripping plateI-strilring against a personor an object, the elbow catch('or-elbowcatches) will be operated Vto have 'the shoul- Alio der i 2release the angle S5, whereupon the springs U and U1'will throw thevscoopv at the* end of the fender frame toa .position where such scoopstrikes the lground in front '1 of the wheels ofthe car. Y

To'restore the parts, it is merely 'necessary to raise-the fender frameuntil the angle S5 passes and is engaged by the shoulder M2.V

If desired, a bumper may be used in 'addiyzo tion to thefender.V It willbe noted, however, Y

that the tripping plate I may be usedvin place ofabumper. f

While I'have herein described and illustra-ted oneembodiment ofV myimprovements, it will be understood that I do not confine U myseli:l tosuch embodiment or to thedetails described or illustrated. v Obviously,my imrovements may be embodied in I other orms which will suggestthemselves to persons skilled in fender construction or in auto: v

mobile construction, and still be within the A scope of my claims.- f

p v What I claim isi,A

l. As a new article'of manufacture, anV elbow catch comprising a'basemember, a long pin carried by said base member, a member pivotallycarried bythe base member 'and having an arm engaged by the pinaforesaid,

and a spring surrounding said pin and bear- Y l ing afralnst bothmembers ofthe catch.

2. In' combination with a vehicle, a fixed frame, a tripping-platecarried by said frame, l p

, a catchalso carried by the frame, a strap connecting thetripping-plate with the' catch,

and a fender also carried by said frame and normally and releasably heldin yinoperative ,f position by said'catch'.

' a catch also carried by the frame, a strap yconf 3. In combinationwith a vehicle, axed frame, a tripping-plate carried by said frame,

- necting the tripping-plate with the catch, and

Y thereby both-carried by the Iframe, and a movable fender also lcarriedbythe frame and provided with an angle for engagement by the catch. t fe' ,f Signed at boroughof Brooklyn in the county of Kings and State ofNew York this a movable fender carried by the frame and provided withan. angle for engagement by the catch. A

4. In combination with avehicle, a fixed frame, tripping means and acatch operable seventh dayof September. A. D; 1928.

- JOSEPH `sYLvEsTER WILLMAN.

